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Is Oceania quality slipping?


Ted&Molly
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We sailed twice on long Oceania cruises in 2009 (14 and 24 days) and were extremely pleased--satisfactory cabins, excellent food, good service, good ship size, and last, but not least, the most interesting shipmates we have met on cruises.

 

Recently, in preparation for our first Oceania cruise in 7 years (34 days on Sirena), we have read disturbing reviews here about the decline in quality, especially disappointment with the "refurbishing" of Sirena. Even the food is being criticized, which we have always thought of as a hallmark of Oceania's reputation. We were considering booking a 17-day B2B with the booked cruise, for a total of 51-days on Sirena, but now we are having second thoughts.

 

The ratings trend appears to be on an historical downslope. Speculation as to cause frequently focuses on the NCL takeover. Is our confidence in Oceania based on experiences 7 years ago outdated and invalid, or are these complaints inconsistent with your recent experiences? What are your thoughts?

Edited by Ted&Molly
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We sailed twice on long Oceania cruises in 2009 (14 and 24 days) and were extremely pleased--satisfactory cabins, excellent food, good service, good ship size, and last, but not least, the most interesting shipmates we have met on cruises.

 

Recently, in preparation for our first Oceania cruise in 7 years (34 days on Sirena), we have read disturbing reviews here about the decline in quality, especially disappointment with the "refurbishing" of Sirena. Even the food is being criticized, which we have always thought of as a hallmark of Oceania's reputation. We were considering booking a 17-day B2B with the booked cruise, for a total of 51-days on Sirena, but now we are having second thoughts.

 

The ratings trend appears to be on an historical downslope. Speculation as to cause frequently focuses on the NCL takeover. Is our confidence in Oceania based on experiences 7 years ago outdated and invalid, or are these complaints inconsistent with your recent experiences? What are your thoughts?

Have not been on Serena, but spent 17 days on Riviera in July and everything was wonderful. Our 10th cruise on O . Nothing has changed from our first time. I do not think that the NCL takeover has made any difference in the operations of Oceania. Mr. FDR is now in charge of all of NCL and has not let his baby(Oceania) slip at all. Still our cruise line of choice. Have a great trip. You will enjoy. :):):)

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I wouldn't worry about the negative reviews - there will always be complainers.

It sounds like you may be on the March Australia circumnavigation as we are. You will find many long-time Oceania cruisers on this cruise. In fact, there are more than ten couples we know just from past Oceania cruises.

We're looking forward to it.

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I haven't sail Sirena, but I've sail other "O" ships - 8 in total and we've enjoyed everyone of them. We had a few problems nothing major and everyone taken care of right away. Don't believe everything you read. Some people wouldn't be happy no matter what. So book your trip and enjoy your time. You be the judge.

Rick

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We are on Sirena now and it has been wonderful! We like it so much that I'm searching for another Sirena itinerary. The food has been exceptionally good in all venues. Sirena has the nicest crew, especially in the GDR. Service has been very good to excellent.

I love Jacques bistro for lunch. You can get a full meal there if you choose as the menu includes an abbreviated entree list from the dinner menu. There are daily features and quite a few new sandwiches.

 

The ship is quite beautiful. My first impression was very positive and the key words are lighter and brighter. The carpets and upholstery are familiar. Lighting has been improved, especially in Horizons, the lounge, elevators and the sitting areas on deck five. The beauty of the R ships shows much better. Solid surfaces in rest rooms and non carpeted floors have been updated.

Tuscan grill is light and bright and gorgeous and it has a 21st century look. No carpet. Flooring is grey slightly whitewashed wood.

 

We are in a stateroom, non suite. The bathroom has been redone with new fixtures,flooring, hardware, flooring, hardware and hand held shower unit, counter, trim board.

I've seen no contractors on board.

 

More later about the shows, losing the signal. I've typed this twice.

I've hard no complaints from anyone!

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We were on Insignia for 180 days and saw no signs of O's quality slipping. (It wasn't our first cruise with them!)

 

We have an active Facebook page for those of us who bonded and are so sad our cruise is over. We've posted pictures each other and of the staff and crew and have "friended" them. Truthfully, I think we are in mourning because all of us are no longer together.

 

Please don't worry about taking an extended cruise; it is wonderful. Don't worry about what others are saying. After sailing with "segmenters" I can't believe their complaints.

 

One said the quality of the service was declining because she asked for 7 black olives on her salad being prepared in Terrace and she was given 8. What a terrible experience for her....and yes, she made them remove the 8th olive.

 

Go, cruise, and enjoy your life. We worldies know that too many things can happen to worry about cruise reviews.

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I just got off Insignia after trans atlantic 17 days... For me winderful, excellent food, outstanding staff, they no longer serve breakfast buffet in wavess just continental stuff in the am.

 

I am sailing in 3 months on Sirena for 21 days and not the least worried. it will be my 9th cruise on a mix of ALL Oceania ships... seen some modest changes but nothing that matters.

 

Princess beat the living heck out of their ship (princess std operating) and the work required to repair the Princess scow into a Oceania world of class was more than , I guess, could be imagined. ( of real interest to me was that Princess touted their little R ships as their absolute most luxurious ships out of their entire fleet . This is a bit scary and why I would never even remotely consider any Princess product... just a Carnival with a different paint job.

 

No, have no fear of Sirena, Only of the nay-sayers who may be a bit over zealous and tightly- wound for us in the practical world....

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I just got off Insignia after trans atlantic 17 days... For me winderful, excellent food, outstanding staff, they no longer serve breakfast buffet in wavess just continental stuff in the am.

 

I am sailing in 3 months on Sirena for 21 days and not the least worried. it will be my 9th cruise on a mix of ALL Oceania ships... seen some modest changes but nothing that matters.

 

Princess beat the living heck out of their ship (princess std operating) and the work required to repair the Princess scow into a Oceania world of class was more than , I guess, could be imagined. ( of real interest to me was that Princess touted their little R ships as their absolute most luxurious ships out of their entire fleet . This is a bit scary and why I would never even remotely consider any Princess product... just a Carnival with a different paint job.

 

No, have no fear of Sirena, Only of the nay-sayers who may be a bit over zealous and tightly- wound for us in the practical world....

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Since most cruises ARE "segments", I do wish those passengers would stop being labelled differently than your group, "worldies".

 

Non worldies make up the brunt of O's passengers, and know a thing or two about cruising too.

 

It is wonderful that you all became such good friends over the 6 months, but I do feel the constant put downs are old and unnecessary.

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Never ever would I be disrespectful to you Tropicalkerry--I was merely making the point that people who have been on board for a long time don't worry about the small things like olive count.

 

I'm sorry that you perceived the worldies were putting people down. That is terrible that you received that impression. I don't think we realized that we were being rude and disrespectful.

 

Again, my point, evidently poorly made, is not to worry about cruise reviews and to go have a good time because some people concentrate on the things that don't really matter.

 

Sometimes being on board for a long time helps us remember what is really important.

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Thank you, but again, people who have been on board a long time are not the only ones who know not to worry about small things like olive count. Most rational people would not.

 

And, we can be on board for a short time and know what's important.

 

I may be taking things too personally, but every time I see the word "segmenter", I, and I'm sure many others who took segments of the world cruise, wonder about our behaviour on board!

 

I will try to stop being so sensitive, and hope to sail with you again!

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Thank you, but again, people who have been on board a long time are not the only ones who know not to worry about small things like olive count. Most rational people would not.

 

And, we can be on board for a short time and know what's important.

 

I may be taking things too personally, but every time I see the word "segmenter", I, and I'm sure many others who took segments of the world cruise, wonder about our behaviour on board!

 

I will try to stop being so sensitive, and hope to sail with you again!

 

I agree... there does seem to be a bit of a shoulder chip

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Thanks for taking the time to respond. Extremely helpful. I had heard that most of the refurbish budget went into the public areas. Have any of your shipmates commented on the condition of the veranda and PH cabins (the categories we are considering)? Again, your "boots-on-the-deck" feedback is invaluable. Ted

 

 

We are on Sirena now and it has been wonderful! We like it so much that I'm searching for another Sirena itinerary. The food has been exceptionally good in all venues. Sirena has the nicest crew, especially in the GDR. Service has been very good to excellent.

I love Jacques bistro for lunch. You can get a full meal there if you choose as the menu includes an abbreviated entree list from the dinner menu. There are daily features and quite a few new sandwiches.

 

The ship is quite beautiful. My first impression was very positive and the key words are lighter and brighter. The carpets and upholstery are familiar. Lighting has been improved, especially in Horizons, the lounge, elevators and the sitting areas on deck five. The beauty of the R ships shows much better. Solid surfaces in rest rooms and non carpeted floors have been updated.

Tuscan grill is light and bright and gorgeous and it has a 21st century look. No carpet. Flooring is grey slightly whitewashed wood.

 

We are in a stateroom, non suite. The bathroom has been redone with new fixtures,flooring, hardware, flooring, hardware and hand held shower unit, counter, trim board.

I've seen no contractors on board.

 

More later about the shows, losing the signal. I've typed this twice.

I've hard no complaints from anyone!

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Eight olives instead of the ordered seven? That's the last straw. I'm cancelling our trip, paying the penalties, and staying home. Actually, this confirms my worst fear--loonies on board.

 

 

 

We were on Insignia for 180 days and saw no signs of O's quality slipping. (It wasn't our first cruise with them!)

 

We have an active Facebook page for those of us who bonded and are so sad our cruise is over. We've posted pictures each other and of the staff and crew and have "friended" them. Truthfully, I think we are in mourning because all of us are no longer together.

 

Please don't worry about taking an extended cruise; it is wonderful. Don't worry about what others are saying. After sailing with "segmenters" I can't believe their complaints.

 

One said the quality of the service was declining because she asked for 7 black olives on her salad being prepared in Terrace and she was given 8. What a terrible experience for her....and yes, she made them remove the 8th olive.

 

Go, cruise, and enjoy your life. We worldies know that too many things can happen to worry about cruise reviews.

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Yes, we will be on the circumnavigation. We're considering adding the Tahiti-Sydney segment. We were lucky; joined the very long wait list in August and cleared it in Sept. for a B1. Still waitlisted for PH and above, but not optimistic. Just glad to be aboard. Fabulous, rare itinerary. First trip to Australia (been to NZ) and will be staying for a month afterward to explore on land. Thanks again. Ted

 

 

I wouldn't worry about the negative reviews - there will always be complainers.

It sounds like you may be on the March Australia circumnavigation as we are. You will find many long-time Oceania cruisers on this cruise. In fact, there are more than ten couples we know just from past Oceania cruises.

We're looking forward to it.

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Thanks for taking the time to respond. Extremely helpful. I had heard that most of the refurbish budget went into the public areas. Have any of your shipmates commented on the condition of the veranda and PH cabins (the categories we are considering)? Again, your "boots-on-the-deck" feedback is invaluable. Ted

 

I haven't heard any comments about stateroom condition anywhere on the ship. No news is good news??

I'm pretty sure all PH categories were totally redone, including the bathrooms.

 

We've really enjoyed this cruise. Food, ship condition and service are the three most important things and we have been pleased.

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We were on Sirena last month in a PH. Bathroom is beautiful and stateroom tastefully decorated in new colours with 3 seater couch and comfortable balcony furniture. However cabinetry has not been changed and the original blue door looks a little out of place with the new inside colour scheme.

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Very helpful. Your observations are consistent with other reviews--the most frequent complaint about PH cabins is worn cabinets, e.g. scratches, door hanging from one hinge, etc. How shabby? (I realize that's subjective.) Just "not new and perfect", "some evidence of wear", or "overdue for replacement--a depressing ambiance"? (Brings to mind ratings of used books: excellent, very good, good, fair, poor.) Thanks.

 

We were on Sirena last month in a PH. Bathroom is beautiful and stateroom tastefully decorated in new colours with 3 seater couch and comfortable balcony furniture. However cabinetry has not been changed and the original blue door looks a little out of place with the new inside colour scheme.
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We are boarding Sirena on Tuesday and I'll be happy to add my comments ... although we ARE in a Vista this time and I would assume that the top suites got first attention. What has interested me more were comments from people in "regular" staterooms who thought they looked just fine.

 

As was mentioned earlier, there are always people who will complain. What can be difficult is in assessing the validity of their comments. This also goes for those who think everything is always perfect. Balance is a good thing ...

 

As to the basic question posed by the OP, we cruise on Oceania regularly -- almost exclusively. Since Oct 2011 we've been on Marina several times, Regatta once, Nautica just two months ago. We haven't noticed any drop-off in the quality of our cruise experience.

 

Mura

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Some reviews I had read people had clearly not done their research & have never been on an R -ship before

small cabins, small bathrooms, dark woods, limited entertainment, open dining, only 1 show in the evening

yes did read about the cupboards not being it top shape also

 

Hopefully they are fixing as they go

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Since most cruises ARE "segments", I do wish those passengers would stop being labelled differently than your group, "worldies".

 

Non worldies make up the brunt of O's passengers, and know a thing or two about cruising too.

 

It is wonderful that you all became such good friends over the 6 months, but I do feel the constant put downs are old and unnecessary.

 

i love to cruise but i would never want to be on any ship for 180 days.I would be bored with the food and the people. I cruise anywhere from a month to 8 weeks at a time. did one add on and it was 10 weeks i was so done with everything. in 2018 i am booked on a 72 cruise. hope i love the ports.

 

I have been on one O ship in my life and going to Tahiti with O again. I figure if i am bored or tired i will go buy a martini and be happy.

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I have yet to see as much as a scratch on any woodwork or cabinetry anywhere on Sirena.

The fine, rich dark wood is a signature feature of R ships. Why in the world would they change it out?

The only thing I noted cabinet wise is in the library. The glass doors are off the book stacks.

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